Bag filling apparatus and method



March 7, 1967 H. STOCKEL ETAL 3,

BAG FILLING APPARATUS AND METHOD Filed June. 1, 1964 I 5 Sheets$heet 1 March 7,. 1967 H. sTocKEL ETAL 3,307,596

BAG FILLING APPARATUS AND METHOD 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 1, 196 4 MAT/5PM. Tl S.

March 1967 1, H. STOCKEL ET'ALY 3,307,596

' BAG FILLING APPARATUS AND METHOD Filed June 1, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 March 967 l. H. STOCKEL ETAL 3,307,596

BAG FILLING APPARATUS AND METHOD Filed June 1, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Amos/ 459c March 1967 H. STOCKEL ETAL 3,307,596

BAG FILLING APPARATUS AND METHOD 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed June 1, 1964 United States Patent 3,307,596 BAG FILLING APPARATUS AND METHOD Ivar H. Stockel, New City, and Calvin R. Taylor, Nanuet, N.Y., assignors to St. Regis Paper Company, New York, N .Y., a corporation of New York Filed June 1, 1964, Ser. No. 371,448 16 Claims. (Cl. 14110) This invention pertains to a method of and an apparatus for dispensing and packaging dry divided solid material and more particularly to a packing spout for dispensing such material into a packaging container.

Packaging spouts embodying the present concept are particularly adapted among other possible uses for use in receiving a combination of material and gas from a bin, separating said gas from said material and discharging the material into a packaging container, such as a plastic bag for example. The material is fine and dry and may be up to about 50 micron particle size, it being noted that the smaller the particle size the greater the effect of this invention on dispensing and packaging the material, and also, the smaller the particle size the greater the room for effecting the benefits of this invention. Such fine dry material may be in the form of all powder or a mixture of powder and granules.

Heretofore, material of this nature to be packaged was placed in a bin feeder which may have been of the open bin type, continuous feed closed bin type or batch feed closed bin type. In all three types fluidizing gas or air is emitted into the material to fiuidize same so that it will readily pass from the bin in a flowing manner. Generally, heretofore the fluidizing air used to dispense the powdered material was allowed to escape through the semi-permeable wall of a paper or cloth bag being packed or vented from a filling tube. However, such a method was time consuming and on many occasions apt to produce a dirty or dusty environment. With the advent of bags having walls that are substantially impermeable, the air could not escape therethrough. Moreover, even porous bags frequently do not vent a desirable quantity of air. Prior art devices have not been entirely successful in overcoming these difiiculties.

It is an object of this invention to overcome the aforementioned difficulties in a new and practical manner.

A feature of this invention is to provide a new and improved packing spout which separates the air from the material prior to the discharge of material into the packaging container or bag.

Another feature of this invention resides in the provision of a packing spout which provides substantially dust free and clean operation. This is of particular concern to the operators of dispensing and packaging machines.

Still another feat-ure of this invention is the provision of a new and improved packing spout which fills the packaging container or bag with material in a dense condition, and hence a smaller bag size may be employed to carry the same amount of material.

Further, a feature of the present invention is to provide a packing spout with which the bag filling time can be substantially reduced. This is accomplished in two ways.

Firstly, less back pressure is generated in the bag being filled and as a result there is less resistance against the packer. Secondly, since a substantial portion of the air is being removed prior to the entrance thereof into the bag being packed, a considerable increase in the force, amount and pressure, of the air in the packer itself may be employed without adversely affecting the bag.

Yet, another object of the invention is to reduce the bag breakage as compared to prior art devices. This prevents the loss of production time occasioned by bag breakage. This provides a cleaner operation with less 3,307,596 Patented Mar. 7, 1967 material being wasted. Moreover, this reduces bag waste.

In addition, an object of the present invention is to provide filling accuracy. It is common in the art to employ balanced beams to weigh the bags being filled. These weighing devices are static devices of relatively large mass and hence take time (delay orlag) to respond to actuation. Commercially produced bags vary in size and because when filling full the back pressure depends upon the bag size, changes of size correspondingly change the back pressure and hence the time delay or lag is not uniform. According to this invention the back pressure is reduced to insignificanice and hence bags of varying size may readily be packed.

Also, the filling accuracy is affected by the variation in the air contained in the material being packed which may be affected by the length of time in storage before being packed, for example. The new and improved packing spout according to the present invention discharges a more uniform material regardless of the variation of air contained in the material being supplied thereto.

Another feature of the packing spout constructed in accordance with the concepts of this invention resides in its ability to pack bags of various constructions. For example, bags having barrier or impermeable walls may be packed as well as bags having semi-permeable or porous walls. Also, bags of lower structural strength may be used.

Still another feature of the present invention resides in the provision of a packing spout which is compact, reliable, convenient, practical and inexpensive to manufacture and operate.

In order to achieve the aforementioned features and objects, this invention contemplates'the provision of a packaging spout comprising an inlet portion which re ceives a combination of material and gas from a bin, and an outlet portion for dispensing the material, after the air has been separated therefrom, into a packaging container. Connecting walls are employed which establish a helix or coil-like passage between the inlet and the outlet portions. There may be one turn or a plurality of turns depending upon the particular material and the surface condition of the material being dispensed. Further, the walls define a radially inwardly extending channel having one end thereof in fluid flow communication with the passage and the other end thereof connected to vacuum producing means. There may be a plurality of channels for each passage turn or there may be one channel for each passage turn and this channel may be disposed at various positions about the circumference of the channel.

There are a number of variables involved in the selection of the passage length or number of turns. Such variables include the thickness of the ribbon of material, the size of the particles of the material being packed, the flow of the material being packed, i.e., pounds per second, and the cross sectional area of the ribbon of material in the flow passage. Actually the flow or stream of material would be known in the art as a dense phase stream. For example, the number of turns indicated by settling in incompressible fluid is given by the following approximate theoretical formula:

wherein T=nurnber of turns h=thickness of the ribbon of materialinches D =size of the particles of the materialmicrons I W/A=fi-ow per unit areapounds per second-square inches In actual practice the above approximation has been found to be more accurate when a constant of 900 is used in place of the theoretical constant of 5190. Based upon a constant of 900 the following table illustrates, by way of example, certain conditions and results of the present invention:

A closer approximation for the number of turns indicated by decompression of a fixed thickness ribbon if the centrifugal field is adequate, it being noted that as the air leaks out, less and less field is required, is as follows:

T=the number of turns K=a constant h=ribbon thickness D =size of the particles of the material being packed.

wherein According to another form of this invention, slinging means are disposed within the core of the passage loops to direct or propel the material outwardly while the fluid or air is being separated therefrom.

It will be appreciated that certain aspects and features of this invention are useful in other fields of material conveyors.

There has thus been outlined rather broadly the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject of the claims appended hereto. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception on which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized as a basis for the designing of other structures for carrying out the several purposes of the invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions as do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention. Specific embodiments of the invention have been chosen for purposes of illustration and description, and are shown in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the specification, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation, partially in section, showing the interior of the bin of a low head type packer with continuous feed means, and illustrating a packing spout having the outlet thereof inserted through the valve of a bag;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view of a packing spout constructed in accordance with the concept of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective exploded view of a packing spout having portions broken away to reveal the air flow passage therethrough;

FIG. 5 is a plan view, partially broken away, showing the internal construction of one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view similar to FIG. 3 but showing another embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of the packaging spout employing a plurality of passage loops;

FIG. 8 is a developed view of the passage interconnecting the inlet portion and the outlet portion of the packing spout showing the separation of the air and material;

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a packaging spout with an air collecting line and valve means contained therein;

FIG. 10 is an end view of a bag showing contraction and expansion thereof during the filling operation;

FIG. 10A is an end view of the bag of FIG. 10 showing expansion thereof during another portion of the filling cycle;

FIG. 11 is a graph of bag pressure versus time showing the variation of the pressure within the bag during the filling operation;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a portion of the packing spout with slinging means for the material; and

FIG. 13 is a longitudinal sectional view of another embodiment of a filling spout constructed in accordance with the concept of this invention.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 5, and with particular reference to FIG. 1, there is shown a packaging spout designated generally at 10 comprising a hollow body 12, an inlet 14 and an outlet 16. A bin 18 is connected to the inlet portion 14 of the packaging spout 10 through a flexible sleeve or pinch tube 20 which may be squeezed shut to stop the flow of material through the packing spout by a cut-off device 22 of known construction. Connected to the outlet portion 16 is a discharge nozzle 17 surrounded by an inflatable sleeve 23 formed of an elastic material so that it may be inflated through a pneumatic connection 24 for filling the space around the nozzle 17 within the bag valve to seal the bag against the entrance of or escape of air or dust to or from the bag as is more fully described in the Titchenal Patent No. 2,955,796. A pneumatically operable bag clamp assembly 25 of a known type is mounted above the nozzle 17 of the packing spout 10 to engage a bag 26 in the region of its valve and clamp the same against the nozzle.

The bin 18 is shown with an inclined bottom 28 and space therefrom is a primary air pad 30 providing a subchamber 32 therebetween that is fed air through a pipe 34. The bin is provided with a top plate 36 that closes the bin to atmosphere. It will be appreciated that a closed bin is shown for purposes of illustration, but the packing spout according to this invention may also be employed with an open bin type of packer. The plate 36 has a feed Opening 38'connected to an infeed conduit 40 leading from a hopper 42, the conduit 40 being provided with any suitable feed valve 44, such as the star valve shown, for effecting the continuous feed into the bin 18 of the material to be packaged.

The secondary air pad 46 is connectedto a secondary air pipe 48. The fiow rates in the primary and secondary air pads are controlled in a known manner for the purpose of fiuidizing the material contained in the bin 18 and thereby conditioning such material so that it can readily flow to the packaging spout 10.

Referring to FIG. 2 the packing spout 10 comprises an inlet portion 14 and an outlet portion 16 and a hollow body 12 and an air discharge pipe 4% which leads to a vacuum pump 50. In operation a combination of material and air enters the packing spout 10 through the inlet 14, the air and material are separated one from the other in the hollow body portion 12 and the air is discharged through the pipe 49 to the vacum pump 50 while the material is dispensed through the outlet portion 16 into a bag. It will be appreciated that the apparatus removes the air while allowing the stream of material in its dense phase to substantially retain its velocity during its passage therethrough. As seen in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, a passage 51 is provided in the hollow body portion 12 for effecting flow communication between the inlet portion 14- and the outlet portion 16. The passage 51 is a means for establishing a ribbon of material which flows from the inlet portion to the outlet portion, the ribbon width being the radial dimension of the body of material. Such passage includes a vane member 52 which is a stabe employed for each vane.

tionary member having lateral walls 54 which define the helix or coil-like passage 51. The periphery of the vane member 52 is integrally connected to the inside of the hollow body 12 as at 56 (FIG. 5). Thus, the inside 58 of the hollow body or casing 12 defines the outside wall of the aforementioned passage between the inlet and the outlet of the packaging spout. A spool member 60 having an outside surface 62, FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, defines the inside wall of the passage 51.

The spool member 60 is provided with a radially extending slot or channel 66 (FIGS. 3 and 4), one end of which channel being in fluid flow communication with the aforementioned passage 51 and the other end of the channel being in fluid flow communication with a central boring 6-8 (FIGS. 3 and 4) which leads to the air discharge pipe 49 (FIG. 4).

The hollow body 12 is provided with a peripheral flange 70 (FIGS. 3, 4 and 5) having bolt holes 72 (FIGS. 3 and 4). As best seen in FIG. 4, the inlet 14 is connected to an inlet head 74 which acts as cover for one end of the hollow body 12. The inlet head 74 is provided with a mating peripheral flange 76 having bolt holes 78 which mate with the bolt holes 72 so that the hollow body 12 and the inlet head 74 may be bolted together by bolts 80 (FIG. 5). It is noted that pipe 49 extends through an opening 81 (FIG. 4) in the inlet head 74. I

Still referring to FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, in operation the packing spout receives the combination of air and material in the inlet 14 and directs same into the coil or looplike passage 51. The material, being of higher specific gravity, tends to bug or concentrate at the periphery of the passage 51 (against the inside 58 of the hollow body 12) while the air portion of the mixture tends to follow the inside wall of the passage 51 (against the outside surface 62 of the spool member 60). The air continues to flow along the surface '62 of the spool 60 until it reaches the slot 66 where it passes to the central bore 68 and then axially outward to the pipe 49 which is connected to a vacuum pump 50.

As best seen by comparing the embodiment of FIG. 3

with the embodiment of FIG. 6, the slot 66 in the spool member 60 may be disposed at various arcuate positions for purposes of handling different types and qualities of materials.

Referring to FIG. 7 a plurality of loops may be employed for effecting fluid flow communication between the inlet 14 and the outlet 16 of the packaging spout.

This is accomplished by means of employing a plurality.

of vanes 52, 52a, 52b and 520 which are disposed in a series-like arrangement. Each vane defines the lateral walls of the passage 51 for each loop or turn. Each of the vanes is provided with a peripheral flange 70, 70a, 7ilb-and 700 having bolt holes 72, 72a, 72b and 720 re- .spectively so that the unit may be assembled in a stacked or series condition and held therein by means of bolts. It will further be appreciated that three vane assemblies are illustrated, however, a greater or a lesser number of vanes may be employed according to the concept of this invention, as desired.

Still referring to FIG. 7 spool members 60, 60a and 60b are disposed centrally of the vanes 52. It will be appreciated that one wide spool member may be employed or a plurality of narrow spool members may be utilized since it is not necessary that a single spool piece Each spool piece is provided with a slot 66, 66a, 66b which performs in a manner similar to slot 66 described in connection with FIGS. 3 and 4. If a plurality of spool members 60 are employed the angular position of the slot 66 may vary one I with respect to the other depending upon which loop the spool member is positioned. Also, each spool may be 6 provided with a plurality of slots, if desired. Each spool member is provided with a central bore 68, 68a and 6811 which communicate one with the other and the last one 68b communicates with the air discharge pipe 49 whereby the air is separated from the material and discharged to a vacuum.

Referring to FIG. 8 there is illustrated a developed view of the passage 51 through which the air and material pass between the inlet 14 and the outlet 16 of the packaging spout, the material and air being contained therein by the surfaces 58 and 62. The combination of air and material enter the passage 51 at 82 where it commences its arcuate movement. Lines 82 and 84 are disposed an arcuate distance apart wherein the material and air are in a substantially intermingled turbulent condition throughout the cross sectional area of the passage 51. In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 4 and when the material is Portland cement, the arcuate distance between the lines 82 and 84 in the passage is of the order of about 30 degrees. The arcuate distance between the lines 84 and 86 in the passage is where the mixture of material and air is subjected to compression. In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 4 and when the material is Portland cement, the arcuate distance between the lines 84 and 86 in the passage is between about 45 degrees and about degrees. It is noted that heavier bulk density matreials require a shorter zone than is required by lighter bulk density materials. Also, when the flow rate (pounds/second) is higher than the zone is shorter. In FIG. 8 the portion of the passage 51 containing primarily material is designated by the numeral 88 and the portion containing primarily air is designated generally at 90. A free surface 92 is formed which separates the material 88 from the air 90. That is, a material-air line is formed having on one side thereof a substantial portion of the excess air and on the other side thereof having a substantial portion of the material. However, along the free surface 32, air is passing from the material 88 to the air space as indicated by the arrows 94. Still referring to FIG. 8, line 96 indicates the end of the first loop and line 98 indicates the end of a plurality of loops such as five loops in a passage 51, the number of loops or the length of the passage 51 being determined by the material and form thereof being packaged and the other parameters as aforesaid. There may be one slot 66 or there may be a plurality of slots disposed along the surface 62 (two being shown). The first slot may be disposed an arcuate distance from line 8?. of the order of about 60 degrees to about 1800 degrees and preferably between about 90 degrees and 1080 degrees. The air flows out the slots 66 as indicated by the arrows 100 because they are connected to a vacuum source such as 50 (FIG. 2). It will be appreciated that the air flow through the slots 66 may contain as little as about 0.5 percent of entrapped solids. The material flows in the direction indicated by the arrow 102 (FIG. 8). It will be appreciated that passages 51 constructed in accordance with this invention may be of square, rec'- tangular or rounded configuration, as desired. Further, the size of the slot 66 and the vacuum force withdrawing the air therethrough may be selected as desired depending upon the particular material and the particular condition of the material being packaged.

The surface 62 of the passage 51 (FIG. 8) is provided for purposes of stability and to produce a steady flow. The flow pattern as illustrated in FIG. 8 is an instantaneous pattern and may instantaneously fail due to irregularities of the pressure contained in the bin or other variable factors. However, once the pattern has failed it will instantaneously redevelop due to the fact that the draw of the material through the slots 66 tends to choke the slots and hence gives the material and air in the passage 51 an opportunity to re-establish itself.

Referring next to FIG. 9, there is illustarted a packaging spout 10 having an inlet 14, and outlet 16, a hollow body 12, and a pipe 49 connected to a ball valve 104 which leads to a vacuum pump 50 (FIG. 4).

In FIG. 11 there is shown a curve representing the pressure Within a bag, such as at 105 (FIGS. 10 and 10A),

during the filling cycle. As best seen in FIG. 1, the nozzl e 17 is placed in the bag 26 and the sleeve 23 is inflated to seal the bag, the bag being held in position by the pneumatically operated bag clamp assembly 25.

In operation at the beginning of a cycle, the valve 104 (FIG. 9) is in its closed position and hence there is no vacuum in pipe 49 (FIG. 7) and there is no air pressure differential across the slots 66 (FIG. 8). This point is designated at 106 in FIG. 11. At this time bag 26 (FIG. 10) is shaped according to the contour depicted by the solid line 108. Thereafter valve 104 (FIG. 9) is opened and a vacuum appears in pipe 49 and a vacuum appears in the passage 51. After a time lapse of about 0.1 to 0.2 second, for example, between the points 106 and 109 of FIG. 11 a pressure decrease commences in the bag as indicated between the points 109 and 110. The total elapsed time to reach point 110 is of the order of about 0.2 to about 0.3 second and to reach point 111 is of the order of about 0.3 to about 0.5 second. The pressure drops from atmospheric pressure at point 109 to about inches of mercury vacuum at point 114, for example, and the bag 26 (FIG. has the appearance as indicated by the dotted line 112. Thereafter, at point 111 (FIG. 11), the valve 22 (FIG. 1) is opened to allow material to flow through the packing spout 10 and into the bag 26. During this time the vacuum in the bag 26 is gradually diminishing until point 113 (FIG. 11) is reached where the pressure in the bag is slightly below atmospheric pressure, for example. The total elapsed time at point 113 is about 0.8 second. As the bag 26 continues to be filled with the material from the bin 18 (FIG. 1) the vacuum in the bag gradually increases again to a point 114 at 2.5 inches mercury vacuum, for example, due to the interrelationship between the air and the material in the packaging spout passage 51 (FIG. 8). The total elapsed time at point 114 is about 3 seconds and the bag 26 has a contour as indicated by the solid line 115 in FIG. 10A. Thereafter as the bag 26 continues to be filled with material the vacuum gradually drops until it reaches atmospheric pressure as at 116 (FIG. 11) after a total elapsed time of about 4.5 seconds, the bag 26 assuming the contour as indicated by the dotted line 118 (FIG. 10A). During the remainder of the filling cycle the pressure continues to build up in the bag until a maximum pressure of the order of about 3 psi. is obtained at point 120 (FIG. 11), the elapsed time being about 6 seconds. The bag is substantially filled and has a contour as indicated by the dotted line 122 in FIG. 10A. The feeding of the material is terminated by closure of valve 22 (FIG. 1) and the vacuum is terminated by closure of valve 104 (FIG. 9). Thence the bag is removed from the filling position by means of releasing the pressure in the expansible sleeve 23 and the bag clamp assembly 25. The cycle may then be repeated with the next successive bag.

Referring to FIG. 12 there is illustrated another embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment the spool member 60 (FIG. 4) is not employed. A slinger or rotary plate 124 (FIG. 12) is mounted on a shaft 126 which is driven by an electric motor 128 coupled to the hollow body 12. The rotary plate 124 performs a function somewhat analogous to the spool member 60 because it keeps the material from entering the center or core portion of the hollow body 12. That is, rotary plate 124 flings the material outwardly but allows the air to pass inwardly so that the air passes axially along the center bore to the vacuum pump via the air discharge pipe. In effect the rotary plate 124 performs the same function :as the surface 62 of the passage 51 (FIG. 8).

Still another embodiment of this invention is illustrated in FIG. 13 wherein a plurality of arcuately disposed passages 130, 131, 132, 133 and 134 are shown. The passages are substantially parallel one with respect to the others and each being disposed radially outwardly with respect to the next adjacent passage. In this manner a relatively narrow passage establishing a relatively narrow width (136) ribbon of material can be used so that fewer turns are required to achieve the same degree of materialair separation, other factors remaining the same. Consequently, a plurality of passages are desirable in order to pass the required bulk of material through the packing spout.

Still referring to FIG. 13, the mixture of air and material enters the packing spout through the inlet 138, thence passes to the body portion designated generally at 140 Where the ribbon of material is given an arcuate twist. In a manner similar to that described in connection with a single passage, the material moves outwardly in each passage 130, 131,132, 133 and 134 and the air moves radially inwardly. Thence, the air passes radially inwardly through the slots or orifices 141, 142, 143, 144 and 145 as indicated by the arrows shown adjacent the slots in FIG. 13. The size, quantity and disposition of the slots may be selected as desired. The chambers 146, 147, 148, 149 and 150 lead to an air discharge pipe which is subjected to a vacuum, all in a manner similar to that described in connection with the single passage embodiment. Thence, the material flows to the outlet portion 152 of the packaging spout.

The term arcuate passage as used herein means an arched or curved passage, the radius of which may be constant throughout the length of the passage or it may vary throughout the length of the passage.

The term helical passage as used herein means a passage comprising a portion of a turn or a complete turn or a plurality of turns wherein the radius of curvature may be constant throughout a single turn or a plurality of turns. The radius of curvature may vary throughout a single turn or a plurality of turns. The passage may lie substantially in a single plane or in a plurality of planes disposed perpendicularly to a given line.

It will thus be seen that the present invention does indeed provide an exceedingly attractive method and apparatus for packaging dry.comminuted material.

, Although particular embodiments of the invention are herein disclosed for purposes of explanation, further modifications thereof after study of this specification, will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains. Reference should accordingly be had to the appended claims in determining the scope of the invention.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A method of packaging particles of dry divided solid material, comprising: introducing a dense phase stream of said particles carried in a gas from a pressurized bin feeder into a packing spout having an inlet portion, and an outlet portion, passing said particles carried in said gas into an arcuate passage extending between said inlet and said outlet, said passage having a first portion of turbulence where the gas and material intermingle and a second portion wherein the particles are subjected to compression and separation from the gas along a free surface line extending substantially along a medial longitudinal axis of the passage, and withdrawing said separated gas from said packing spout, while passing said particles to a packaging container in a compact phase.

2. A device of the character described comprising an inlet portion for receiving a combination of material and fluid from a bin, an outlet portion for dispensing said material into a packaging container, partition means establishing a passage for movement of the material and fluid therethrough in an arcuate path, said partition means further establishing a radially inwardly extending channel with respect to said passage, one end of said channel being in fluid flow communication with said passage and the other end thereof being connected to fluid collecting means.

3. A device according to claim 2 wherein said channel is remotely disposed with respect to the outlet portion, and said channel is disposed at at least about 60 degrees from a transverse line to the longitudinal axis of said inlet portion.

4. A device according to claim 2 wherein said passage is a coil-like pasage.

5. A device according to claim 2 wherein said passage is a helical passage, and wherein said partition means further defines a plurality of spaced channels extending radially inwardly with respect to said passage.

6. A device according to claim 2 wherein said passage is a helical passage, and wherein said channel is disposed at at least about 60 degrees from a transverse line to the longitudinal axis of said inlet portion.

7. A device according to claim 2 wherein said passage is a coil-like passage having a plurality of coils interconnecting said inlet and outlet portions, and wherein said partition means further defines a plurality of spaced channels extending radially inwardly with respect to said passage.

8. A device according to claim 2 wherein said passage has a plurality of turns and wherein said one end of said channel is in connection with each of said turn of said passage.

9. A device according to claim 2 wherein said partition means establishes a plurality of arcuately disposed passages between said inlet and said outlet and said passages are disposed one radially outwardly with respect to the next adjacent passage and wherein said partition means further defines a radially inwardly extending channel for each passage.

10. A device according to claim 9 wherein said passages are substantially parallel one with respect to the others. i

11. A device according to claim 2 wherein said passage as shown by a developed view thereof comprises an initial portion of turbulence wherein the fluid and material intermingle, a subsequent portion wherein the material is subjected to compression, said material and fluid being adapted to define a free surface extending substantialy along a medial longitudinal axis of said passage defining an outside portion of said passage containing primarily material and an inside portion of said passage containing primarily air.

12. A device according to claim 11 wherein said initial portion extends an arcuate distance of the order of about 30 degrees and said subsequent portion of said passage extends an arcuate distance of the order of from about degrees to about 80 degrees.

13. A method of packaging particles of dry divided solid material according to claim 1 wherein said gas and material intermingle for an arcuate distance of about 30 degrees in the first portion and wherein said particles are subjected to compression and separation from the gas for an arcuate distance of from about 45 degrees to about 80 degrees.

14. A method for packaging particles of dry divided material according to claim 1 wherein said particles are subjected to a plurality of complete revolutions in said arcuate passage.

15. A method of packaging particles of dry divided solid material according to claim 1 wherein said gas is withdrawn through a plurality of radially inwardly extending channels and said gas is collected at a location containing reduced pressure.

16. A method of packaging particles of dry divided solid material according to claim 1 wherein said particles are passed through a plurality of arcuately disposed passages, one being radially outwardly disposed with respect to the next adjacent passage and said passages being parallel to each other, and wherein said gas is withdrawn through radially inwardly extending channels in each passage.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 928,673 7/ 1909 Lebrassevr -457 FOREIGN PATENTS 555,908 9/1943 Great Britain.

252,657 10/ 1948 Switzerland.

LAVERNE D. GEIGER, Primary Examiner. H. S. BELL, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A METHOD OF PACKAGING PARTICLES OF DRY DIVIDED SOLID MATERIAL, COMPRISING: INTRODUCING A DENSE PHASE STREAM OF SAID PARTICLES CARRIED IN A GAS FROM A PRESSURIZED BIN FEEDER INTO A PACKING SPOUT HAVING AN INLET PORTION, AND AN OUTLET PORTION, PASSING SAID PARTICLES CARRIED IN SAID GAS INTO AN ARCUATE PASSAGE EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID INLET AND SAID OUTLET, SAID PASSAGE HAVING A FIRST PORTION OF TURBULENCE WHERE THE GAS AND MATERIAL INTERMINGLE AND A SECOND PORTION WHEREIN THE PARTICLES ARE SUBJECTED TO COMPRESSION AND SEPARATION FROM THE GAS ALONG A FREE SURFACE LINE EXTENDING SUBSTANTIALLY ALONG A MEDIAL LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF THE PASSAGE, AND WITHDRAWING SAID SEPARATED GAS FROM SAID PACKING SPOUT, WHILE PASSING SAID PARTICLES TO A PACKAGING CONTAINER IN A COMPACT PHASE. 